Moontower Comedy News

Fun Fun Fun Fest is first and foremost a music festival but its got more comedy than many comedy festivals. Marquee acts like Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, and Tenacious D join Austin comedy linchpins such as Matt Bearden, Mac Blake, and Maggie Maye for three days of some of the best comedy in the country. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Austin expats Doug Mellard and Nick Mullen who number among the many highlights at this year’s fest. Here now is a complete listing of all of the comedy related events at Fun Fun Fun Fest this year!

In honor of Halloween, here are THE TOP FIVE HALLOWEEN SKETCHES OF ALL TIME or at least the top five out of the sketches that I could find on the internet over the past couple of days plus they’re kinda arbitrarily organized but lists really seem to get hits and clicks so let’s count down THE TOP FIVE HALLOWEEN SKETCHES OF ALL TIME!

5. Weekend Update: Stefon on Halloween • Saturday Night Live
Don’t worry about security, because it’s guarded by an army of hobo-cops.

4. Zombies • Kids in the Hall
They’re safe, but for how long?

3. Michael Jackson • Key and Peele
Where the children at? That’s in bad taste.

2. Monster Parties: Fact or Fiction? • Mr. Show
The unexplained. The inexplicable. The hard-to-convey. Since the dawn of time, men have wondered: do mysteries really exist? Some say ‘maybe’. Others aren’t so sure.

A rising star in the standup scene and one of my personal favorites, Dan St. Germain will be at Cap City tonight through Saturday. Dan was chosen as featured comic in Variety’s annual prestigious “10 Comics To Watch” list and has appeared on such shows as Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Conan, and John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show. He’s the creator and star of the web series Kicking Dan Out and co-hosts a podcast with Sean Donnelly called My Dumb Friends. His first album, Bad at the Good Times, is forthcoming from aspecialthing Records and he recently sold a pilot to Fox. Dan generously agreed to answer some last minute questions and did not disappoint.

What’s your favorite thing about being a standup?

New bits that don’t suck.

Who inspires you?

Life sized busts in my own image.

How would you describe your comedy to an old lady sitting next to you on a plane?

“It’s a lot of personal stories mixed with act outs mixed with… Who are we kidding? Let’s make out right now.”

Congrats on your deal with Fox! What can you tell us about the show?

Well right now it’s a script deal and we’re hoping it moves to pilot. Fingers crossed. Dustin, a complete train wreck, moves back in with his ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend in hopes of learning from his past mistakes and growing as a man. It’s kind of like What About Bob meets Forgetting Sarah Marshall but a TV show!

Dan St. Germain performs at Cap City Comedy Club October 30th – November 2nd. Doug Mellard features and Duncan Carson hosts so this should be a phenomenal show. Tickets are available here.

Austin’s favorite Halloween themed standup comedy show returns this Wednesday night at the Spiderhouse Ballroom with many of Austin’s top comedians performing as various dead celebrities. Norman Wilkerson, whose Borscht Belt Satan character may be familiar to Doug Stanhope fans, returns with a wickedly funny, thoroughly original night of standup.

And the lineup is stacked. Austin comedy stalwarts including Matt Bearden, Mike MacRae, J.R. Brow, Jake Flores, Katie Pengra, Joe Hafkey and reigning Funniest Person in Austin champ Mac Blake are all slated to appear. I spoke with Norm about the origins of the show, what happens to us after we die, and Jack Klugman.

What is the Comedy Seance?

The Seance is basically an excuse for comics to dress up for Halloween and tell some jokes as somebody else for a night. The conceit of the show is that Satan, the host and emcee, has brought back the ghosts of a handful of dead celebrities to put on stage for a night of standup comedy. The celebrities themselves might have been comedians during their lives, but could just as easily have been politicians, actors, musicians… really anybody that it might be funny to hear from. It’s really left up to the creativity of the comic playing the part, and this year we have seven of the most creative and funniest people in Austin participating.

Where did you get the idea for the show?

Back when Avi Hartman and I were doing various comedy shows around town under the Austin Comedy Trainwreck banner, we were brainstorming ideas to try to get an audience to actually show up for a change. Halloween was coming up, so we figured we could do something with the comics dressing up in costumes. I was already working on my Satan character for another show, and it just sort of came together. That first year we asked everybody to chose a dead stand-up comedian to portray, and it was a big hit. The following year, a couple of people didn’t get the memo and chose celebrities from other walks of life. One comic even did a set as God. They wound up being some of the funniest sets of the night. After that, we just let everybody do whoever they wanted, and were amazed at some of the ideas people came up with.

Tell us a bit about your devil character and how it originated.

The Satan character was originally supposed to be sort of a cross between an old time borscht belt comic and Andrew Dice Clay, maybe with a bit of Tony Clifton thrown in. Since then, he’s sort of taken on a personality of his own. Back in 2007, when I was still occasionally opening for Doug Stanhope, he suggested I come up with a goofy character to do from time to time. I think it was his way of telling me he was bored with my act. About that same time, Lucas Molandes and I had come up with the idea of doing a Spite Club round as Jesus vs. Satan. This was at the same time that Avi and I were discussing the Seance idea, so it was sorta killing three birds with one stone. I was batting around ideas for a costume, when one day my wife came home from shopping with what is probably the most ridiculous Satan mask ever made. I just sort of developed the character from there.

Who will be channelled on Wednesday?

Some of the comics are being very mysterious about this. Matt Bearden is usually pretty secretive about his plans, but he never fails to deliver the set of the night. I’ve heard that we can expect Phyllis Diller and Winston Churchill to be making appearances. What I can tell you for certain is we have seven very talented and creative people on the show, all doing things you’ve never seen from them before.

If you could ask any famous dead person a question, who would you ask and what would you want to know?

Jack Klugman. I’d like to know if he’s honored that my wife names all of our cats after characters he’s played, or if he just thinks it’s creepy. My money’s on creepy.

What happens to us after we die?

We quit disappointing ourselves and others.

Can I have a hug?

Have you showered recently?

The Comedy Seance begins at 8pm on October 30th at the Spiderhouse Ballroom. Tickets are $10 at the door or $7 in advance when purchased here.

In advance of the premiere of The Pete Holmes Show, Moontower alum Pete Holmes shows us what a meeting between Batman and Superman would really look like. The Pete Holmes Show premieres Monday, Oct. 28 at Midnight/11 Central on TBS. Batman vs. Superman was co-produced by College Humor.

Sarah Silverman tweeted out a link to her “failed NBC sit-dram” Susan 313 earlier this week. This is the only episode of the series to be produced and features Tig Notaro, Harris Wittels, June Diane Raphael, and guest star Jeff Goldblum as Silverman’s ex.

Cownie is a funny and dry mockumentary about Ryan Cownie that co-stars Kerri Lendo as Rachel Styles and Benjamin Johnson as his manager. See what happens when Ryan walks away from a headlining gig at the nation’s biggest comedy festival to attend a gig in San Antonio. The short was written and directed by Cownie and Dustin Svehlak with additional writing by Johnson.

Moontower favorite and hometown hero Chris Cubas just advanced in Comedy Central’s Up Next contest. As a result, Cubas is one of eight finalists who will perform at the “Comics to Watch” show at the 2013 New York Comedy Festival. Cubas posted that he and fellow Texan Tone Bell advanced at the regional semifinals in Ft. Lauderdale.

The contest began with preliminary rounds at 26 participating clubs around the country with over 200 stand up-comedians vying for the title. According to Comedy Central, “highlights from the finals will be posted on cc.com, and based on online voting a ‘Comics to Watch: Fan’s Pick’ will be awarded $2500, a Comedy Central Records digital release, an appearance on a future Comedy Central series, and more.” Go Cubas!

Will Ferrell! Elaine May! Will Forte! Many of the biggest names in comedy are coming to Austin over the next few days for the 2013 Austin Film Festival! I’ve put together a guide to all things comedy at AFF so grab a pen and make a schedule because there is a lot going on. Without further ado, here’s what’s funny at AFF!

FRIDAY (10/25) – Deconstructing DR. STRANGELOVE, a panel examining the pitch-black Kubrick comedy; The Kings of Sit-Comedy, an examination of the sitcom with Lee Aronsohn (co-creator of Two and a Half Men), Phil Rosenthal (creator of Everybody Loves Raymond), and Peter Mehlman (writer/co-executive producer of Seinfeld); Deconstructing TOOTSIE, a breakdown of the seminal 80s comedy.

SATURDAY (10/26) – Contemporary Comedy, a look at the modern comedy with John Hamburg (MEET THE PARENTS, ZOOLANDER, I LOVE YOU, MAN) and Steve Faber (WEDDING CRASHERS, WE’RE THE MILLERS).

FRIDAY (10/25) – Elaine May Presents: A New Leaf, comedy legend Elaine May presents her classic comedy; Norman Steinberg Presents: Blazing Saddles, writer Norman Steinberg will be on hand to give insight into the madcap world of this politically incorrect masterpiece; Nebraska, Will Forte stars in the latest from the mind of Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways, The Descendants). Forte will Q&A following the screening.

SATURDAY (10/26) – G.B.F., Darren Stein (Jawbreaker) is back with this send-up of high school clique culture.

TUESDAY (10/29) – Last I Heard, bittersweet comedy about an ailing Mafia Capo played by Paul Sorvino (in attendance); Crackheads, a priest, a psychologist, an actor and a used car salesman get involved with methamphetamines.

WEDNESDAY (10/30) – The Golden Scallop, a mockumentary about three fried-fish restaurants and the ultimate short order cooking contest.

THURSDAY (10/31) – All Cheerleaders Die, horror/comedy about a rebellious outsider who joins the cheerleading squad.

NOTE: Screenings require a badge, film pass, or an individual ticket. Tickets go on sale 15-20 minutes before screenings, space permitting. Film passes and badges may be purchased here.

Showtimes will highlight select comedy shows coming to the Austin area. These showtimes are for the week of 10/22-10/28.

TUESDAY

First things first, if you’ve never seen Jake Flores, you have exactly one more chance to see him headline before he moves away. Flores leads the lineup at tonight’s PUNCH! showcase which also features Derek Phelps, Amber Preston, and more. Jake is one of the funniest people I know and a true original. Tickets to PUNCH!are on sale now. Get them while you can.

Speaking of originals, Sandra Bernhard is at ZACH Theater tonight. The KING OF COMEDY star’s act is full of free-form riffing, campy but soulful singing, and original set pieces.

Margaret Cho is at the Paramount Theatre with her brand new show Mother which has been described as “a complicated and completely original take on sex, queer politics, drugs, guns, identity and madness.”

And last but not least, former Funniest Person in Austin winner and all around goofball Eric Krug will be at The Velveeta Room Saturday night. He’s bringing along another FPIA winer, Brian Gutmann, as well as some special guests. Krug and Gutmann have entertained audiences at comedy fests around the country and both appeared on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham. (More info).

Denim aficionado Jay Leno has been spotted in and around Austin today. Photographer/DJ Miguel Angel first posted this photo of him and Leno outside of Bar-B-Q Heaven last night.
And earlier today KXAN’s Sally Hernandez tweeted that she was about to interview Leno at the Circuit of the Americas track.

And finally, Instagram user autosymas nabbed a shot of him and Jay on the track.
No word on whether Leno has touched his Tonight Show money at this time.